Food Pantry Concerns Remain

In the June 24 issue, the PCN&R reported on Philipstown Food Pantry volunteers and donors who were concerned that the First Presbyterian Church, where the food bank is housed, claims to have been charging the group $250 per month for at least nine months with no disclosure to the public. This amount is reportedly nearly 20 percent of the donations the pantry receives. The church had not notified the donors of this fee.

The food pantry has always had a nondenominational character, and people who make contributions assume that the food and money for food goes to those people who need it, not as a contribution to the First Presbyterian Church.

Church representatives have said that the food pantry is part of the church, and donations made to offset food costs are tax-exempt only because the money goes to a First Presbyterian bank account. But donors have questioned why the church seems reluctant to be transparent about where their freely given money is going.

First Presbyterian Church has yet to announce publicly that it is taking this monthly contribution from the food pantry, though it did confirm the amount to the PCN&R. Church officials had said that the number would be publicly revealed once outgoing food pantry director Jackie Sammon had provided them with all the financial information they needed.

But according to Sammon, who said she opposed the fee from the start, only the church had access to the pantry's bank account. The church had planned on discussing the numbers during a meeting of its governing Session in late June. That meeting was to take place on the evening of Friday, June 26, but reportedly only four people showed up, perhaps because a major thunderstorm moved into the area. In any case, there was no discussion of the monthly contribution.

Sammon has said she never consented to the "contribution" while she was the food pantry's director, but church representatives have hinted that it was her idea. But when pressed on the matter, they said that perhaps Sammon did not come up with the amount, but that she never registered serious objections when it was proposed last fall. Sammon said she was opposed from the start and offered her resignation effective July 1 in part because of the church's seeming hesitation in shedding light on the fee.

The PCN&R attempted to reach the pastor of First Presbyterian for further comment since last week's story broke, but was unable to reach her as of Tuesday morning.

Some volunteers, who continue to work at the Food Pantry on Saturday mornings, have expressed concerns.

One volunteer, Kyle Fitzsimmons, called the monthly charge "a very fishy fee."

"All the donations going to the food pantry I understand would best be served going to the folks who would need it by purchasing food," he said. "This is the only instance I think I've ever heard of a food panty being charged rent for a charitable cause."